Sarah Ferguson’s charity removed from official register after closure

Sarah’s Trust has officially closed months after renewed attention on Sarah Ferguson's past links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The charity announced in February that it would shut down "for the foreseeable future." At the time, the board said the decision had been under discussion for several months and praised the charity’s work.

Sarah’s Trust has now been removed from the public charity register.

The charity was launched in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. It supported NHS workers, care home staff and hospices, and also helped provide computers for Ukrainian refugees in Poland.

The closure announcement came days after the US Department of Justice released millions of documents related to Epstein. Some emails showed Ferguson was in contact with him after he was released from prison in 2009 for soliciting prostitution from a minor.

One email from Epstein to Ghislaine Maxwell said Ferguson and her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, had visited him shortly after his release.

Other emails showed Ferguson thanking Epstein for his support. In one message, she called him "the brother I have always wished for." In another, she said she needed £20,000 to cover rent after one of her business ventures failed.

The documents also included emails in which Ferguson discussed possible business opportunities with Epstein.

Being named in the documents does not mean Ferguson committed any wrongdoing.

Ferguson divorced Prince Andrew in 1996. Andrew later stepped back from royal duties and stopped using his Duke of York title following his own links to Epstein.